Guard rail lubricator



Oct. 16, 1934. E. OVERMIER ET AL GUARD RAIL LUBRICATOR Filed Oct. 15. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l ITufen 0P5 Emma/2s flllv-mz'er and 120777082 300772022 i Oct. 16, 1934. E. OVERMIER ET AL GUARD RAIL LUBRICATOR Filed 001;. 15, 1951 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Oct. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES 1,977,082 GUARD RAIL LUBRICATOR Emmons Overmier, La Grange, and Thomas E. Rodman, Glencoe, Ill., assignors to Maintenance Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application October 15,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a guard rail lubricator, and more particularly to an improved mechanism for lubricating the wheel-engaging surface of the guard rail by means which is actuated by the tread of the car wheel as it passes along the adjacent track-rail.

Numerous devices have heretofore been suggested and used for distributing lubricant between .the rail-engaging surfaces of the flanges of the car wheels and the inner surface of the rail head of the runningrail along curves or at other locations where the side thrust of the car brings the flanges of the wheels at the outside of the curve forcibly against the side of the running rail on which these wheels travel. In some installations a guard rail is positioned inside of the inner running rail and parallel thereto so as to be engaged by the back surfaces of the flanges of the car wheels at the inner side of the curve. In such situations it is desirable to apply lubricant between the engaging surfaces of the car wheel flanges and the side surface of the guard rail against which these flanges contact. The lubricating device herein disclosed is designed especially for this purpose.

The back face of the car wheel engages substantially fiatwise against the side surface of the rail head of the guard rail and means is provided for feeding lubricant over the top of the guard rail so that it will be in position to be. engaged and wiped away by the wheel flanges or will flow downwardly by gravity along the side surface against which the car wheel contacts. The lubricant distributing member is mounted at the inner side of the guard rail v(that is the side away from the running rail) and comprises a distributing plate mounted on top of the guard rail and provided with spaced outlets adapted to direct the lubricant downwardly along the whcel-contacting side surface. The lubricant reservoir and pumping mechanism is conveniently positioned outside of the track, that is on the side of the running rail remote from the guard rail, and is operated by a mechanism. positioned adjacent the running rail on its outer side .and operable by the tread of the car wheel as it passesalong the running rail. The conduit or conduits for supplying the lubricant lead from the pumping mechanism under or through the running and guard rail and connect with the distributing members positioned inside of and above the guard rail. In this manner none of :the mechanism need be located in the narrow limited space between the running and guard rails. v

The principal object'of this invention is to provide an improved lubricating mechanism for the contacting surfaces of a wheel-flange and guard rail, such as briefly described hereinabove 1931, Serial No. 568,996

and disclosed more in detail in the specifications which follow.

Another object is to provide an improved distributing device adapted to be mounted on a guard rail for lubricating the wheel-contacting side surface thereof.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will. be more apparent from the following detail description of one approved form of mechanism constructed according to the principles of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete installation. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical section taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical detail section taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig.2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of the distributing plates.

.At 1 is indicated one .of the running. rails of standard type, carried by tie plates 2 mounted on. ties 3 in the usual manner. The guard rail 4 is also mounted on the tie plates 2 parallel with running rail 1 and spaced rather closely, adjacent thereto between the two track rails. This guard rail 4 may take a variety of forms, but is conveniently made from a standard rail, one of the base flanges being cut away as indicated at 5 to permit the rails l and 4; to be positioned sufficient- 1y close together. dotted lines in Fig. 2, and when the thrust of the car is toward the right as seen in this figure, the outer surface of wheel flange '7 will thrust against the side surface 8 of the railhead 9 of guard rail l. The purpose of the lubricating device forming the subject matter of this invention is to supply lubricant along the surface 8 of the guard rail between this surfaceand the contacting surface of wheel flange 7. This lubricating mechanism comprises generally a reservoir and pumping mechanism indicated generally at A and supported independently of the rails, an operating mechanism for actuating the pump which is indicated at B and supported on the running rail 1, and a lubricant distributing mechanism 0 sup ported by'the guard rail 4.

The reservoir and pumping mechanism A and operating mechanism B may take a variety of forms, the example here shown being substantially the same as disclosed and claimed in the .copending application of Bates and Overmier, Serial No..397,413, filed October 4, 1929, Briefly described, the reservoir A comprises a tank for holding the supply of lubricant (preferably inthe form of a rather thick oil or grease), the tank or receptacle also 'inclosing a suitable form of pumping mechanism actuated by the intermittently rotated shaft 10 to force lubricant from the reservoir through the supply conduits 11 and 12. 'Iheshaft 10 comprises universal joints 13 A car wheel 6 is indicated in means of a series of bolts 40.

and 14 and a telescopic central portion 15 so that the shaft is flexible in all directions, and the conduits 11 and 12 are flexible, so that the reservoir and pumping mechanism A may be supported entirely independent of the track assembly, preferably in the ballast adjacent the trackway.

The operating mechanism B comprises a supporting housing indicated generally at 16 in which is journaled the end portion 17 of operating shaft it), the housing being supported from rail 1 by means of flller plates 18 and 19 and bolts 20 passed through the web 21 of the rail. A ratchet wheel 22 rotatable on shaft 17 is clamped between friction washers 23 and 24 by spring 25 so as to normally rotate with the shaft 17 but be capable of slipping with relation thereto to avoid breakage in case of a jam or stoppage of any of the moving parts. A tread bar 26 is pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the railhead 27 and is normally held in elevated position by 28. The bar is depressed by the tread of the car wheel 6 as the wheel passes along the rail 1. A pawl 29 pivotally carried by bar 26 is rovided with a series of ratchet teeth adapted to engage one side of ratchet wheel 22 and rotate this wheel when the operating bar 26 is depressed. A spring pressed plug 30 holds the pawl yieldably in engagement with the ratchet wheel. A locking pawl 31 is pivotally suspended in a stationary bracket and is spring held against the ratchet wheel 22 so as to prevent reverse rotation of the ratchet wheel when the bar 26 and pawl 29 are returned to elevated position by the springs 28. It will now be apparent that whenever a wheel, such as 6, passes along the rail 1, this operating mechanism B will be actuated to impart a partial rotation in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 3 to the ratchet wheel 22 and shaft 17 and hence to the flexibl operating shaft 10 leading to the pumping mechanism. As a consequence lubricant forced slowly and more or less steadily from the reservoir A through the conduits 11 and 12 to the distributing mechanism C now to be described.

The improved distributing mechanism C is supported on the guard rail 4 at the inner side and top thereof, the conduits 11 and 12 (in the example here shown) leading under the rails 1 and 4 to connect with this distributing mechanism as best shown in Fig. 2.

In some installations the conduits will be led through openings in the webs of the rails, or will comprise fittings mounted in the rails to transmit the lubricant therethrough. In the example here shown the distributing mechanism C comprises two duplicate parts positioned end to end and simultaneously supplied with lubricant by the two conduits 11 and 12 so as to increase the area of the guard rail supplied with lubricant from a single operating unit. A description of one of the two sections of mechanism C will sui'fice for both. A supporting angle bar 32 mounted at the inner side of the guard rail 4 by means of bolts 33 which are passed through the web 34 of the rail, filler plates 35 and 36 and the vertical flange 37 of the angle bar. The upper horizontal flange 38 of angle bar 32 is positioned substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of railhead 9 of the guard rail 4.

The distributing plate 39 is supported horizontally on flange 38 of the angle bar and the railhead 9, being attached to the angle bar by In the lower surface of that portion of plate 39 which rests on flange 38 is cut a longitudinally extending open channel 41 which forms a main lubricant supply passage. A central lateral extension 42 of this channel leads to an opening formed downwardly through the flange 38 into which is connected by means of a suitably threaded nipple the end of the supply conduit 11 or 12. From the end portions of channel 41 lead transverse branches 43 and 44 into auxiliary longitudinally extending channels 45 and 46. From the end portions of these channels 45 and 46, passages 47 lead transversely of the plate 39 through that portion thereof which rests on railhead 9, these channels opening through the outer edge of plate 39 at equally spaced intervals, as best shown in Fig. 4. The outlets 48 at the ends of the passages 47 also open downwardly so that the lubricant forced out through these passages will be in position to be wiped away by the wheel flanges or to flow down over the curved edge 49 of the crown of the railhead 9 along the side face 8 of the railhead against which the wheel flanges contact. A gasket 50 is positioned between the dis tributing plate 39 and the flange 38 of angle bar 32 to which the distributing plate is secured so as to close the lower sides of passages 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46. It will be noted that all of the passages hereinabove described are symmetrically arranged and of equal length so that there will be an equal resistance to the flow of lubricant from inlet 42 to any of the outlets 48 thereby equalizing the flow of lubricant through all of the outlets. The edge of distributing plate 39 provided with outlets 48 terminates adjacent the upper edge of the curved portion 49 of the railhead so as to leave a ledge along which lubricant will accumulate and flow downwardly as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In operation, whenever a car wheel or car wheels pass along the running rail 1, operating mechanism B will be actuated to eject lubricant from reservoir A through the conduits 11 and 12 to the two duplicate sections of distributing mech anism C. The lubricant will emerge from the outlets 48 onto the curved edge 49 of the crown of the railhead and thence move downwardly along the outer surface 8 of the guard rail and will be smeared along this rail by the contacting surface of wheel flanges 7. It will be noted that none of the mechanism is located in the limited narrow space between the heads of running and guard rails so that there is nothing to interfere with the free movement between the rails of the wheel flanges due to the varying side thrusts of the car as it moves along the trackway. Also the mechanism requires very little overhead clearance since the distributing plate 39 is comparatively thin, entirely smooth on its upper surface, and is the only portion of the apparatus which projects above the rails. The mechanism is simple and easily applied, and a single pumping and supply unit will uniformly lubricate a considerable length of the guard rail. If it is desirable or necessary to lubricate a greater length of guard rail, two or more units of the type hereinabove disclosed may be positioned end to end or at suitable intervals along the rails.

The lubricant-distributing mechanism C could be mounted either permanently or removably on or in a separate rail-section forming an extension of the guard-rail to be mounted at either end of the usual guard-rail, whereby the parts could be assembled at the shop before being installed in the trackway.

all

The present invention is concerned with the symmetrical arrangement of lubricant ducts only in connection with the other arrangements and constructions of parts herein described and claimed; the broader aspect of said lubricant duct arrangement being included in the said Bates and Overmier application Serial No. 397,413, filed October 4, 1929.

We claim:

1. Means for lubricating the outer wheel-engaging surface of a guard rail comprising a lubricant discharging member mounted on the rail and including a supporting plate secured to the rail, a distributing plate mounted on the supporting plate and projecting over the rail-head, and formed with a main lubricant passage, a plurality of discharge outlets spaced along its outer edge and directed downwardly along the outer face of the rail-head, and a plurality of branch passages of equal length leading from the end portions of the main passage to the several outlets, the main lubricant passage and parts of said branch passages being in the form of open channels closed by said supporting plate, and a supply conduit leading into the central portion of the main lubricant passage.

2. Means for lubricating the outer wheel-engaging surface of a guard-rail comprising a lubricant discharging member mounted on the rail and including a supporting member in the form of an angle-bar having its vertical flange secured at the inner side of the rail, and its upper horizontal flange positioned substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of the rail-head, a distributing plate mounted on the supporting plate and rail-head, the portion of the plate which rests in the rail-head being formed internally with a plurality of transverse lubricant passages leading to discharge outlets in the outer edge of the plate directed downwardly along the outer face of the rail-head, the portion of the plate which is supported by the angle-bar being formed in its lower face with a plurality of open channels leading from a central inlet to the several lubricant passages, a gasket clamped between the plate and the supporting bar to close the chan nels, and a supply conduit leading into the central inlet.

3. In combination with a running-rail and a guard-rail positioned adjacent the inner side of the running-rail and adapted to be engaged by the outer surface of a car-wheel flange, means for applying lubricant to the outer wheel-engaging surface of the guard-rail comprising a lubricant reservoir and pumping mechanism for forcing lubricant therefrom, means for operating the pumping mechanism comprising a member positioned adjacent the outer side of the running rail and adapted to be depressed by the tread of a car wheel, a distributing member comprising an angle bar having its vertical flange secured against the inner face of the guard-rail and its upper horizontal flange positioned in substantially the horizontal plane of the top of the railhead, a horizontally positioned distributing plate mounted upon the upper flange of the angle bar and the top of the rail-head and formed with a plurality of discharge outlets spaced along its outer edge and directed downwardly along the outer wheel-engaging surface of the rail-head, the plate being formed with a main lubricant passage and a plurality of branch passages leading therefrom to the several outlets, and a conduit leading into the main passage from the pumping mechanism.

4. In combination with a running-rail and a guard-rail positioned adjacent the inner side of the running-rail and adapted to be engaged by the outer surface of a car-wheel flange, means for applying lubricant to the outer wheel-engaging surface of the guard-rail comprising a lubricant reservoir and pumping mechanism for forcing lubricant therefrom, means for operating the pumping mechanism comprising a member positioned adjacent the outer side of the runningrail and adapted to be depressed by the tread of a car wheel, distributing mechanism comprising a pair of similar distributing members arranged end to end along the guard-rail and each comprising an angle bar having its vertical flange secured along the inner side of the guard-rail and its upper horizontal flange positioned in substantially the horizontal plane of the top of the railhead, a horizontally positioned distributing plate mounted upon the upper flange of the angle bar and the top of the railhead and formed with a plurality of discharge outlets along its outer edge and directed downwardly along the outer wheelengaging surface of the railhead, the plate being formed with passages leading from an inlet to the several outlets, and a pair of similar supply conduits leading from the pumping mechanism to the inlets of the two distributing plates respectively.

5. In combination with a running-rail and a guard-rail positioned adjacent the inner side of the running-rail and adapted to be engaged by the outer surface of a car-wheel flange, means for applying lubricant to the outer wheel-engaging surface of the guard-rail comprising a lubricant reservoir and pumping mechanism for forcing lubricant therefrom, means for operating the pumping mechanism comprising a member positioned adjacent the outer side of the running rail and adapted to be depressed by the tread of a car wheel, distributing mechanism comprising a pair of similar distributing members arranged end to end along the guard-rail and each comprising an angle bar having its vertical flange secured along the inner side of the guard-rail and its upper horizontal flange positioned in substantially the horizontal plane of the top of 'the railhead, a horizontally positioned distributing plate mounted upon the upper flange of the angle bar and the top of the railhead and formed with 5 a plurality of discharge outlets along its outer edge and directed downwardly along the outer wheel-engaging surface of the railhead, the plate being formed with a central inlet and a plurality of passages of equal length leading from the inlet to each of the several outlets, and a pair of similar supply conduits leading from the pumping mechanism to the inlets of the two distributing plates respectively. v

6. Means for lubricating the outer wheel-engaging surface of a guard rail comprising a sectional lubricant discharge plate mounted on the rail and projecting over the head thereof, a por-- tion of one section of the plate being formed internally with a plurality of transverse lubricant passages leading to discharge outlets in the outer edge of the plate and another portion of said section of the plate being formed with a plurality of open channels leading from a central inlet to the several lubricant passages, a closure plate for closing the open sides of said channels, and a supply conduit leading into the central inlet. 

